


Tale As Old As Time

by Earthtotaylor



Category: Homestuck
Genre: EriKat - Freeform, F/F, F/M, Gen, Implied/Referenced Cheating, M/M, arasol - Freeform, solkat - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-04
Updated: 2016-05-16
Packaged: 2018-03-21 03:44:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3676125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Earthtotaylor/pseuds/Earthtotaylor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I have no idea how people go about getting roommates or anything related to getting an apartment so sorry for all the inevitable inaccuracies!!:P</p>
        </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Karkat Vantas was the definition of unlucky. Not only has he just gotten out of a shitty relationship, he was now left with nowhere to go. Things just kept getting worse and worse for him and it doesn't seem to be letting up anytime soon. 

Now, he was sitting in a ran-down diner, eating a slightly stale muffin, and searching through ads for a place to stay. 

Be the nubby horned troll===>

'Roommate wanted: $500/month, Music Student in college, DJ, Must be cool.' Yeah, no. This guy is probably loud and annoying.

'Roommate needed: $350/month, Video game Designer, Friendly atmosphere-' Nope. Seems too nerdy and clingy

'Roommate needed: $250/month. Quiet atmosphere, pets welcome,' Doesn't seem too bad, and it's pretty cheap. 

There was one more that really caught my eye, whoever wrote it must've payed out of the ass for this one; it was a carnivalesque themed advertisement, written in an odd way, yeah, we're not even going to bother looking at that one. 

The third one sounded like the best option so I picked up my phone and dialed the number. 

The phone rang twice before a voice answered;

"Hello?"

"I'm calling about the apartment.."

"Oh wwell then this is your potential roommate speaking."

"What?-" the way he said well was sort of weird and I don't want to seem rude, this is the first time we've spoken, I've gotta make a good impression, I can't mess this up, I really need a place to stay. "Uhm, never mind so yeah, can I come check the place out later?" 

"Sure, come over wwhenever you wwanna"

Okay, is he doing that on purpose or what? It's really weird. Whatever

"Alright fine, I'll be there in a little while to check it out, bye"

I barely gave him time to take in what I had said before I hung up, smooth Karkat, real smooth.


	2. Chapter 2

~lazy author time skip to after Karkat finished eating and went to check out the appartment~

Karkat stood outside of the large apartment complex in awe already. He didn't want to come off as too eager though so he shook off some of his nerves and walked up the path. He opened the door and walked to the apartment number, taking in a breath before knocking on the door. 

It didn't take long for the door to open, revealing a comfy looking apartment behind a slender man. He had a few inches on Karkat, large black rimmed glasses, and a vibrant purple streak through his hair. Karkat looked from him to the inside of the nice looking home before actually speaking. 

"Uhm hey, I'm Karkat."  
"You're here to see the place right? I'm Eridan." He stepped aside to let Karkat inside, into a modern styled living room. 

To say that Karkat was impressed would be an understatement. The place was huge, it was hard to believe it was one apartment. The room intended for him looked as if it came out of one of his dreams, it was hard for Karkat to not blurt out how 'fucking great all this shit is' but he contained himself the best he could, trying to make a good first impression. 

After looking through the rest of the apartment Eridan turned to face him with an expecting look on his face, "wwell?" Karkat noticed the slight stutter again but brushed it off, who cares?   
"I really like it here, I think I'll take it." Eridan grinned and the two began making arrangements, Karkat should be all moved in by the weekend, giving him the next three days to get all of his shit from Sollux's place. Things were finally starting to look up for Karkat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea how people go about getting roommates or anything related to getting an apartment so sorry for all the inevitable inaccuracies!!:P


	3. Chapter 3

It was early Thursday afternoon that found Karkat in Sollux's apartment. He had just finished packing up the last of his things and was about to head out of the door when a picture frame caught his attention. Inside it was a picture of his and Sollux's first date, he had taken Karkat to dinner and a movie. The picture was taken by their friendly waitress who fawned over the 'cutest couple to walk into the place' as she had put it that night. Karkat smiled at the memory as more flooded into his head. He hadn't actually processed that he and Sollux were no longer together, and, having been too angry at the other for cheating, hadn't been able to cope with the loss of one of the closest people he had in his life.

He didn't know how long he was there, just looking at the picture, remembering their times together, until there was a knock at the door. Bringing Karkat to the present, he walked over and answered the door, thankfully, it was Eridan. He had forgotten all about telling him to meet him there to help bring Karkat's things to the apartment. Eridan looked down at Karkat with a puzzled look on his face.   
"Wwhats wwrong Kar?" He had asked as he brought his hand up to Karkat's face to wipe away the tears Karkat didn't realize were there. The action startled Karkat, making him flinch back some at the cold touch of Eridans hand.   
"Nothing's wrong, I'm fine now." He hadn't explained to Eridan the extent of his relationship with Sollux, he didn't really plan to either, unless it was absolutely necessary. Karkat went to the other room and picked up a box, directing Eridan to do the same. As they walked through the main room, the door opened, revealing the man who broke Karkat's heart. 

Karkat didn't even think of the possibility of Sollux coming home. He just wanted to get his things and get out and never see him again, but of course, fate had other plans. 

Sollux looked wide-eyed at the two others in his apartment. He didn't know what to say, he knew something like this would be happening soon, he just hoped he'd be able to fix the problem before it was this bad. He took in the features of the others, the short tempered dark haired one, his best friend and boyfriend for the last two years, and the other one, tall with an eccentric sense of fashion, black rimmed glasses, and the streak of violet in his hair, in short, Sollux thought he was hot. Seemed a bit douchey, but totally bangable. 

The awkward silence continued to fill the room until Karkat let out a frustrated sigh and swiftly waked past Sollux.  
"C'mon Eridan, lets get out of here." Eridan perked up at the sound of his name and readjusted the box he was holding before walking out behind Karkat. They placed the boxes in the back of Eridan's car as Karkat remembered that there was still one more box. He began to walk towards the door when Eridan called out to him.   
"Do you wwant me to go in wwith you?"  
Karkat was surprised but thankful for the offer, he must've sensed how tense things were between Sollux and him, he said he was fine and that he'd be right back before turning and walking into the door. He walked up to Sollux's door and contemplated knocking but decided against it. He walked in, Sollux not in sight, and went to grab the box in the back room. He found Sollux, standing near the box, gazing at the same picture Karkat was minutes before.   
"This doesn't have to happen you know" he said, feeling Karkat behind him. Karkat remained quiet, not really knowing what to say.   
"We can bring everything back and keep being together, keep being happy" that pushed Karkat, he couldn't just forget everything that happened.   
"And what, Sollux? Act like everything is perfect? Like you weren't cheating on me for the last two months?!" Karkat said, raising his voice with each question. With that, Karkat was ready to storm out until the closing of the front door was brought to his attention. He had thought maybe it was Eridan, coming to see what was taking so long. He couldn't have been more wrong. A girl with long, dark curly hair came into the room in search of Sollux. Karkat recognized this girl to be the same one that Sollux had been cheating on him with, Feferi, he believed her name was. Karkat was livid now.   
"How could you act like you care about me when it was so easy for you to go and cheat on me like that? I put my all into our relationship Sollux and I thought you were doing the same. And now you're trying to convince me to stay when you're still seeing her?! How absolutely fucked up are you?!" Karkat had tears of anger and sadness slowly trickling down his cheeks, his voice crackling with every word. The girl looked at him, just as shocked as Sollux seemed to be.   
"You were cheating on him? With me?!" Her eyes were beginning to water as she turned around and ran out of the door  
"FF, waiit!" Sollux called to her. Karkat picked up his last box and began walking to the door before turning back to Sollux  
"I hope one day, you find someone that you really care about Sollux, someone who's heart you aren't willing to break." With that, Karkat walked out of the door and to Eridan's car, placing the box in the back and jumping into the front. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, all he could say at the moment was "drive away, please".


	4. Chapter 4

The ride home was silent. Eridan wanted nothing more than to ask about what exactly just happened, but figured it was best to leave Karkat alone for the time being. 

Luckily, the ride wasn't too long and they had arrived at their apartment in about ten minutes. Eridan went to open his door when Karkat finally decided to speak up.   
"I'm sorry about that" he mumbled, just loud enough for Eridan to hear.   
"If you don't mind me asking, wwhat wwas up wwith that? You seem pretty on edge about it" the nervousness was obvious in Eridan's voice, as he stuttered slightly more than usual over his words. 

Karkat took in a big breath, preparing himself to tell Eridan about his past with Sollux. Eridan took his hand away from the door and turned to face Karkat more, offering a gentle and reassuring smile and nod towards the other to let him know he was listening. 

"Sollux and I have been best friends since we were little, us moving in together was practically inevitable. About a year ago things changed between us, we started dating. Everything seemed great, everything was great for a really long time. Then he started staying out later and later, he became more distant and all we would ever do is argue, then I caught him cheating on me with some girl, he threw a years worth of love and a lifetime of friendship away to get laid."

Karkat had tears welling up in his eyes and his voice was starting to shake as he let out his pent up emotions. Eridan watched, wide eyed and unsure of what else to do, so he did what he instinctively thought of and hugged him as best he could while still in a car. Karkat's breath hitched momentarily as he was unsure of what was happening but he accepted Eridan's shoulder to cry on and hugged the other tightly as he let everything out. Eridan ran his fingers through Karkat's hair and patted his back, offering him any help he could give. 

After a while, Karkat calmed down and pushed himself off of Eridan's chest and wiped his eyes dry with the back if his hand.   
"Sorry, thanks for that" Karkat said without looking up. Eridan placed his hand on Karkat's shoulder and squeezed to comfort him.   
"He was lucky to have had you as a friend, let alone a boyfriend, it's definitely his loss" Eridan stated as he brought his hand from Karkat's shoulder to his chin to guide his face up "now let's get your things inside before it starts raining"

Karkat looked out the windshield to see that the sun had disappeared almost completely behind dark clouds then glanced at his phone, it was already 4:30. They left Sollux' place before 3, which meant that Karkat had just spent the last hour crying on Eridan. He quickly grabbed for the door handle and grabbed a box from the trunk of the car before heading towards the apartment. Eridan chuckled as he watched the smaller boy struggle to keep his balance while trying to open the door before helping him out. 

After they got all of Karkat's things in Karkat went to his room to begin putting things away but gave up halfway through due to exhaustion. He fell asleep in no time, what a long day.


	5. Chapter 5

~2 months later~

The past two months had been relatively uninteresting. Karkat had gotten over Sollux after a few weeks, thanks to Eridan. He had successfully been able to pull Karkat out of his post break-up rut and even managed to convince him to get back out there and find someone else. The two had grown very close, both as roommates and as friends. 

They were so close in fact, they were nearly inseparable, which made others unsure of exactly what their relationship was. They made it perfectly clear to their small group of friends that they were just good friends, nothing more. But Eridan wasn't sure about that himself. Even though it has only been a short amount of time, he has found himself growing a little too fond of the shorter troll. He had only confronted one person about his possible feelings for the other, their neighbor Vriska. Eridan and Vriska had an odd relationship, they have been friends since they were grubs and were very close, practically family, and often bickered back and forth like siblings. Vriska had barely sympathized with Eridan's unrequited interests and offered her best advice; "suck it up and tell him."

Karkat on the other hand, was trying his best to forget about Sollux's existence. He and Eridan often went out to different places with the hopes of finding someone to go home with but failed nearly every time, with the exception of Dave Strider. They had met at a club Eridan suggested they go to, he was the dj. They clicked immediately and went out for drinks a few times. 

Eridan was not a fan of Dave whatsoever. Every time Karkat would mention his name Eridan's mood would instantly turn to one of annoyance. He tried to tell Karkat that he had a bad feeling about him, saying things about how he still knew next to nothing about him and that it seemed like he's never seen him sober. Karkat would just brush off Eridan's concerns as over-protectiveness and continued to see Strider, much to Eridan's disappointment. 

Everything changed though when Karkat had caught Dave making out with another guy in the club Dave had suggested they meet up at. The blonde tried to slur out an apology in his drunken state but Karkat wasn't hearing it. He stormed out of the club and walked back to his apartment to tell Eridan about what a douche Dave really was. It was hard for Eridan not to say 'I told you so' but he managed and listened to Karkat ranting on. 

And, as if things couldn't get worse, after listening to Karkat's frustration for ten minutes Eridan leaned in and kissed him. He wasn't sure why exactly he did it at that point in time, or at all, but when he finally realized what was happening he pulled away, eyes wide in shock. He stared at Karkat with his mouth wide open as he tried to figure out what to do or say next while said boy just stared at nothing with a deep red blush plastered on his face. They stayed that way until Eridan managed to stand up and walk to his room. Things were about to get really awkward.

 

This is crap sorry, I've been so busy lately but I really want to finish this story! Sorry it's so jumpy and completely unproofed, I hope you guys sort of liked it anyways!


	6. Chapter 6

The following week between the boys were awful. They managed to not speak to each other at all. Eridan did nothing but stress about how Karkat was feeling after his actions and wondering what would happen next.   
Karkat on the other hand, was coming to a realization of his feelings. He felt like he finally understood everything between Eridan and himself. He had no idea how to relay those feeling back to Eridan now though. It has been 6 days since they lass spoke and Eridan had managed to avoid Karkat each time he had even looked at him.   
All he needed was a sign. Something to push him, like in all those romcoms he's watched. Unfortunately, that wasn't how things worked in the real world. He was sure Eridan hated him at this point. He knew he had to toughen up and confront Eridan soon or else their relationship would be done for. Karkat just wasn't ready to face him yet; what if it was just an accident, a spur of the moment? What if he tells Eridan how he feels and he just laughs at him? He couldn't take that.   
Karkat was pulled out of his thoughts with the sounds of a frustrated scream, a bang, stomping around, and the slamming of a door. Curious, Karkat peeked his head out of his room to find nothing. It was now completely silent in his home. He took a deep breath and walked to Eridan's room to see what happened and to finally talk things out. He knocked slightly on the door before pushing it open to reveal an empty room. A pile of books and papers lay on the floor, the most probable cause behind the noises. The paper still on Eridan's desk is what captured Karkat's attention though. In purple ink was Karkat's name written across the top. He walked over and picked it up;

Karkat,  
I'm so sorry for the other night, I guess I let my feelings get the best of me. I knew you didn't feel the same way I do but after listening to how upset you were over Dave I just couldn't help it. I hope we can still be friends and forget about that ever happening-

The note was illegible after that point and what was there had been crossed out and scribbled on multiple times. Karkat took a few moments to let the letter sink in.

Karkat's POV

"Let his feelings get the best of me", "didn't feel the same way as I do" did that mean that Eridan liked me too? Does he really want to forget about it? I have to talk to him. I have to find him. 

 

Wrote this in like 10 minutes. Life's been pretty stressful lately but I'm not giving up on this! That said, I think there's only going to be maybe 1 or 2 parts left to this, I hope you guys have liked it so far, even if I don't update often enough and when I do they're super short! Also I tried POV, in really bad at that so please, if your got any suggestions about that (or about anything that is my writing too!) shoot 'em my way! See you in the next one!☺️


	7. chapter 7

Karkat ran out of the apartment without a second thought. All he knew was that he had to find Eridan. He ran down street after street, determined to find him but so far to no luck. Karkat stopped for a moment under the rooftop of a building to catch his breath. It was only then that he had noticed the rain that had completely drenched him from head to toe. He hoped Eridan was alright...

Once he had regained his breath, Karkat took a moment to think. Closing his eyes with a deep breath he considered the situation; Eridan only had about a 5 minute head start on him, he couldn't have gotten too far. Anyplace that he frequented was too far away and with this weather theres no way he's heading towards them. The only place Karkat could think of was the old diner up the street from their apartment that they would often visit. With this realization hitting Karkat like a brick, he wasted no time in dashing in the direction of the diner.

The usual 10 minute walk was cut down to 3 as Karkat ran with the thought of Eridan on his mind. When he had spotted the diner Karkat began walking towards it and spinning his head around, trying to locate Eridan. He looked through the giant diner windows and didn't see the troll inside, he checked up and down the street but found no glimpse of him. Sighing in defeat Karkat turned to head back to the apartment, maybe Eridan had already made it back? But as he turned he caught a glimpse of something purple. He focused through the heavy rain and it became more clear, sitting in a small alleyway, was a head full of thick black hair adorn with a streak of purple. Knowing exactly who it belonged to Karkat sprinted in his direction. Karkat tripped over himself as he realized that he had no idea what to do. He hadn't planned this out at all but regardless, he took a deep breath and shook his head free of all thoughts. He had no idea what he was doing but he knew that it was right. 

Karkat headed toward Eridan. He had his eyes shut and the rain masked Karkat's footsteps so Eridan had no idea he was there. As he took the final strides towards him his movements became automatic. Karkat leaped towards Eridan and latched onto him. Eridan turned, shocked to see Karkat. As soon as he looked into his eyes, Eridan knew that no words were needed. They both knew that everything was going to be okay from this point. This is where things would start to look up for the both of them. As they embraced they knew that what they felt was strong and true. They gazed into each others eyes as they spoke a wordless conversation, ending it was a passionate kiss.

As the two headed into the diner to wait for the rain to let up they ran into a spirited troll making her exit while holding the hand of a tall lanky troll with glasses. Upon fist glance Karkat immediately knew who it was. None other than Sollux Captor. But he looked different to Karkat. It was hard to explain but he looked visibly happier and as he looked back towards the girl tugging at Sollux's hand he knew why and when he turned towards Eridan he knew that he too had changed. He was no longer the naive hot-headed kid he was a few months ago and he knew he had Eridan to thank. Sollux nodded his head towards Karkat's hand, that was intertwined with Eridan's, and gave Karkat a congratulatory smile before being tugged away by the small troll. "AA waiit! Not so fast!" Karkat chuckled as they were off. Eridan nudged him inside and they sat at their favorite table. Things really were looking good. Everyone finally seemed content now and that's the way Karkat hoped things would stay. For now though, he was finally perfectly happy.


End file.
